Fighting Tigers Fall Short

West Coast have clinched an emphatic 10-point victory in a high-intensity contest over Richmond at Etihad Stadium.

The Eagles led for the majority of the match until a tense final quarter saw the Tigers snatch the lead in a shootout, but the extra experience and class from West Coast allowed them to get over the line.

Dean Cox in action - http://www.flickr.com/photos/roger-the-sheep/

The game was intense, with players throwing themselves at the footy, causing accidents, knocks and sparking the odd tussle between players, with Scott Selwood, Daniel Jackson, Ashton Hams and Jack Riewoldt all copping knocks behind play.

The desperation from the Tigers to come away with the victory was obvious and they got out to a good start, with Dustin Martin kicking two goals amongst ten first-quarter possessions, but with the help of Jack Darling who also kicked two of his own, it was West Coast who led at quarter time.

Richmond kicked three in a row including a long bomb from Trent Cotchin to level the scores but some brilliant ruckwork from Nic Naitanui and the contested brilliance of Matt Priddis helped the Eagles out to a game-high lead of 26 points.

Priddis and fellow on-baller Daniel Kerr were dominant in the midfield – Priddis recorded 24 disposals (fourteen contested), eight tackles and nine clearances, while Kerr’s second, third and fourth efforts were the icing on a 28-disposal (17 contested), eight-clearance game.

Despite that, the Tigers fought back with the last two goals of the second quarter and the first two of the third to again level the scores, where the game slowed down and became much more contested.

Cotchin stepped right up on his way to 29 disposals (fourteen contested) and six inside 50s especially with the brief absence of Brett Deledio, who sent a shiver through the Richmond camp in a nasty-looking clash with teammate Shane Tuck.

He struggled to put any weight on his right knee and was taken off the ground in the arms of the trainers but later returned to stamp himself on the game through the last quarter with 26 disposals and eight inside 50s. Nathan Foley also made his mark with 27 disposals (16 contested), seven tackles and seven clearances up against West Coast’s on-song inside midfielders.

Richmond’s midfield fought back with enough strength to take the lead in the last quarter but Josh Hill and then Jack Darling, the top goalkickers for the Eagles with three and four respectively, slotted goals to extend the Eagles’ lead and seal off the game.

Brad Miller topped the goalkicking for the Tigers with three while out-of-form Jack Riewoldt kicked two.